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Poster #73 - Gesture Facilitated Math Instruction Helps Girls Learn but Leads to Math Frustration

Sat, March 23, 8:00 to 9:15am, Baltimore Convention Center, Floor: Level 1, Exhibit Hall B

Integrative Statement

Research has shown that the use of visual scaffolding (gesture) in math instruction enhances learning for children, particularly for students with compromised math skills (Cook, Duffy, & Fenn, 2013). Gesture makes abstract information accessible through visual imagery, and is especially helpful when expressing spatial information (Alibali, 2005; Church, 1999). Specifically, gestures are beneficial to 2nd graders when learning how to solve mathematical equivalence problems (i.e., problems that require understanding the meaning of the equal sign; Koumoutsakis, Church, Alibali, Singer, & Ayman-Nolley, 2016; Perry, Church, Goldin-Meadow, 1988). Although girls’ mathematical abilities have been shown to be similar to boys’ (Herbert & Stipek, 2005), girls’ math achievement suffers largely due to math anxiety and stereotype threat (i.e., boys are good at math, girls are good at reading), which leads to frustration when performing math tasks (Cvencek, Meltzoff, Greenwald, 2011). Therefore, we hypothesized that math instruction with gesture could benefit math learning for girls, and reduce frustration with math performance. Fifty-four 7-9-year-old children from Chicago Public Schools participated in a pretest-instruction-posttest experiment with a survey gauging children’s frustration levels with performing the pre- and posttest math activities given after each test. The instructional videos taught how to solve pre-algebraic math problems (i.e., 3 + 4 + 5 = ____ + 5); one video included gesture to visually support the speech and the other included only speech instruction. Learning was operationalized as an increase in correct solutions from the pre- to the posttest. Results show that children overall benefited significantly more from speech and gesture instruction (35% learned) than speech only instruction (4% learned). However, girls benefited more from speech and gesture instruction than boys (50% vs. 22%). Girls rated their problem-solving experience as more frustrating than boys even though their rate of learning was the same as boys. Gesture improved girls’ math performance overall, but it lead to higher frustration. In contrast gestured instruction lead to lower frustration in boys. Finally, frustration was significantly associated with lack of learning in girls but not in boys. In sum, instruction with gesture enhanced learning for girls but made them more frustrated. Even so, girls’ frustration was associated with lack of learning, as defined by the researchers. Future research will examine whether girls interpret their frustration with math as evidence that they are not good at math. Results suggest that girls could be taught to interpret frustration during math problem solving as a path to new understanding, rather than as evidence of lack of competence.

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